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Astronomy

The Best Comet of the Year is Finally Here – Here’s Everything You Need to Know

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

The new comet, C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), has been visible in the morning sky in Australia and New Zealand, and its brightness is expected to increase. Astronomers predict it will become the best comet of the year, potentially visible in the daylight sky on October 9 and 10 due to forward scattering of sunlight by its dust.

Key Takeaways:

  • Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is currently visible in the morning sky in Australia and New Zealand, with its best views expected in the next few weeks.
  • The comet's brightness is expected to increase, making it the best comet of the year, although it is unlikely to be the comet of the century.
  • The comet will be at its closest approach to the Sun (perihelion) on September 27, when it will be 58 million kilometers from our star.
  • The best show in the morning sky will likely be during the last couple of days of September and the first few days in October, before the comet is lost to view.
  • The comet will then pass almost directly between Earth and the Sun on October 9 and 10, potentially causing a spectacular brightening of the comet due to forward scattering.
  • The comet will appear in the evening sky after October 12, and should be a bright, naked-eye object for a few days.
  • The comet's tail will be streaming outwards, past our planet, and could grow to prodigious lengths in the night sky.
  • The comet's brightness will fade rapidly, and it will likely become too faint to see with the naked eye before the end of October.

Statistics:

  • The comet is currently 1.5 hours before sunrise in the morning sky in Australia and New Zealand.
  • The best show in the morning sky will be during the last couple of days of September and the first few days in October.
  • The comet will be 58 million kilometers from the Sun on September 27.
  • The comet will be at its closest approach to Earth on October 10.
  • The comet's tail could grow up to 100 million kilometers in length.
  • The comet will be visible in the daylight sky on October 9 and 10, if it brightens by up to 100 times.

Sources:

  • The Conversation (Au and NZ) -- By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland AstroStar/Shutterstock.

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